


As Old As Rhyme

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Ghosts, Mother's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 07:57:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14637464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: Every night, someone sits next to Luke on his bed and sings a lullabye in a low voice in a language he doesn't know.





	As Old As Rhyme

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [StarWarsMothersDayPromptFest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/StarWarsMothersDayPromptFest) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  There's times Luke can almost remember his mother's voice, as impossible as it might be.

Every night, Aunt Beru tucks him in, kisses his head, and wishes him sweet dreams. Every night, Luke snuggles under his blanket from the chilly night, closes his eyes, and tries to sleep.

Every night he can't sleep, someone sits next to him on his bed and sings a lullabye in a low voice in a language Luke doesn't know, until he drifts off with dreams of vast oceans and prairies full of green grass.

* * *

He's one of the best pilots he knows, which isn't saying a lot. He's a little better than Biggs, who roars with laughter even as he loses to Luke again when they're racing through Beggar's Canyon. Luke dreams every night of running away to somewhere exciting, somewhere real. Sometimes his dreams become daydreams, and this time, he makes the turn too slow.

The crash doesn't destroy his ship, but it does spin him into the side of the canyon wall. If he didn't have his helmet on, his brains would be jelly. Instead, he's staring out of the torn-open hatch above him into a brilliant blue sky, and his ears are buzzing with a high pitch. He's tired.

"Stay awake," says a voice in his ear. A woman, gentle but firm. Luke doesn't know why her voice reminds him of the sea. He's never even seen a lake, but her voice is cool and blue. "Keep your eyes open, Luke."

He can't help but obey. His eyelids want to drift, but she keeps talking to him. She sings words he doesn't know, a different song than the scraps of memory from his childhood, something to keep him conscious. Biggs loops back in his own ship, finding Luke's crash.

"Hey, pal," he says, worry all over his handsome face. "Let's get you out of here."

"Sure. She can help you move me."

"Who?" Biggs asks, not really listening as he unstraps Luke from his seat.

* * *

The fleet moves in caravan from base to base. Luke flies his X-Wing, Artoo humming to himself aft. It can take days, stuck with nothing but the blue past his canopy and the chatter on the comms for company, and the uncomfortable waste recycler. At least this model has one of those, thank Quarrie for the upgrade. Luke has read the old Jedi spent their hours in deep meditation, and he tries, but more often, he drifts into dreams.

He's used to the song now. She's taught him half a dozen tunes, which Luke can never recall properly during his waking hours, not enough to recreate or to find.

* * *

It's his turn to babysit Ben again. He goes through the stories and games he remembers Aunt Beru playing with him as a toddler, but Ben isn't even one year old yet. Setting up blocks for him to knock down passes the time, and a few nursery rhymes keep his attention.

Luke isn't sure when he starts humming the tune from his dreams, but it's enough to bring a toothless grin to the baby's face. The words are clear in his memory, even if he hasn't any idea what they mean, and Luke sings to him. In the back of his mind, in the place where the other beloved dead have spoken to him, he can hear the familiar voice whisper to him when he forgets the lyrics.

* * *

Ben is five and Han has taken him, because this is a trip for Luke and Leia to take alone. The palace at Theed is spectacular, just as it was in the holos they viewed before they decided together to make this journey. Leia has made most of the arrangements, including making contact with their cousins. They have cousins. Luke remembers playing with Aunt Beru's nieces and nephews, and now they have a pile of relatives.

Leia leads them through the hall of past monarchs, her face a quiet study when they find the portrait of Amidala in her royal garb. There is nothing of the woman whose face she almost remembers, she tells Luke sadly. But there are other pictures to see, and the senatorial portrait is far more familiar. Luke watches her face light up in recognition, feeling a strange jealousy. Leia was visited by their mother, they're both sure, and she remembers her face.

"I can see her in both of you," Pooja tells them, her own expression wistful. She barely remembers her aunt, although she's named her youngest daughter after her. Names carry the past, Luke thinks.

As Pooja settles her children to bed, she sings them a lullabye, and Luke startles. "What's that?"

"It's a traditional song," she tells him. "It's in the old language. 'Sleep baby, and I will protect you.' Silly old nursery song."

"Luke?" Leia asks him, taking his hand as she sees his face.

He squeezes her hand back. "Remind me to tell you something later." Then he closes his eyes, and listens to the words of his mother's song.

end


End file.
